Inaccurate Perceptions
by brittany34
Summary: At the age of eight Chloe Sullivan was adopted by Lionel Luthor. Now 10 years later she's an intern at the Daily Planet and in her spare time investigating the recent terrorist attacks on her family's researh labs. Detailed description inside!
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Inaccurate Perceptions

**Author: **brittany2922

**Summary: **After the unexpected death of her parents, Chloe Sullivan was adopted by Lionel Luthor and raised as his own. Now twelve years later, Chloe is ready to break out on her own, move away from the confines of the Luthor mansion in Smallville and begin classes at Met U. All on her way to living her lifelong dream of becoming a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for the Daily Planet. But everything she knows is about to change when she begins to investigate recent terrorist attacks on her family's company and finds out that the Luthors are not what she always believed them to be.

**Characters: **Chloe Sullivan/Luthor, Oliver Queen, Lex Luthor, Lionel Luthor, Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, Author Curry, Dinah Lance, Mia Darden

**Pairings: **Chloe/Oliver, Lois/Clark, AC/Dinah, Bart/Mia

**Rating: **Mature/ NC-17 (Eventually)

**Genre: **Mystery, Suspense, Drama, Angst, Romance, and some Humor

**Words: 1,958**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing!

A/N Just a heads up on a few things before you start to read this story…

1. There will be several mentions of events from Smallville canon, but in order to fit them into the story the way I wanted to they may not happen in the proper timeline.

2. There will be parts of this story where Lex seems OOC that will mainly be as a result of his relationship with Chloe and I'm hoping to mix in enough interaction with other characters to show plenty of canon Lex.

3. I had no intention of starting to post this story yet, but after the BS move the CW pulled yesterday I thought I'd throw some more fanfic out there for my fellow annoyed Chlolliers.

4. Oliver's first appearance in this won't be until chapter 3.

5. My hope is to update this story every Monday and Friday hopefully RL will allow for that schedule.

_**Prologue**_

Chloe Luthor marched into the study; the large white envelope with the Met U logo pressed firmly between her chest and folded arms. It had taken her almost two weeks to find a time when both her adopted brother and father would be available for what she was sure would end up being a very unpleasant conversation.

She forced away her worries of the certain tension that would no doubt occur as soon as she told both men the reason she'd insisted on seeing them. No matter how nervous she was she _had_ to do this.

She was ready.

Ready to move on from the confinements of her family's Smallville estate, and move on to the next chapter of her life.

Her father had forced her to move to the small secluded town just after her fifteenth birthday and she had spent the three years since then in nearly complete social seclusion.

Even going to school, public or boarding, had been denied to her. Instead her father had taken the time and money to hire her best tutors available. Apparently they had done their job well somehow without even attending a normal high school she had still been accepted to every college she had applied to, and while most people would have went straight to one of the Ivy League schools she had been accepted to, she had landed on Met U.

It was the perfect choice.

She hadn't told anyone yet, not even Lex, but she had decided several months ago to go after her lifelong dream of being a reporter at the Daily Planet and the best way for her to accomplish that was to attend the closest college and apply for one of their coveted internships.

Now there was only one obstacle left for her to overcome, she had to find a way to convince her brother and father that it was time to let her move away from the mansion and on to the Met U campus.

She settled herself into one of the large oversized chairs and placed the envelope gently on her lap as she waited for the two men to arrive. She glanced down at her watch and realized that, as always, they were both running late.

Chloe rolled her eyes, they were always running late, especially recently.

Over the past few months Luthorcorp had been suffering. There had been several terrorists' attacks against their research and development labs. Lex had been ranting about it to her on almost a daily basis.

After finding out about all the trouble this radical group had cost her family she had decided that as soon as she had the research tools of the Daily Planet at her disposal; she was going to do everything in her power to discover who these men were and expose them to the world, it was the least she could do after everything the Luthor family had done for her.

Just after her parents death ten years ago Lionel had found her living in a small Metropolis orphanage. He had been there giving a press conference about Luthorcorps most recent charitable endeavor, funding several children's homes around the city.

He had told her the story more times then she could count, after one conversation he had fallen in love with her and her sassy nature. He always ended the story by telling her that he had never thought he would have a chance to have a daughter and that he knew after talking to her for five minutes that she was meant to be a Luthor.

It hadn't taken long for him to have all the paperwork filled out and processed, and within two weeks of meeting him she was moving out of the orphanage and into the Luthor penthouse.

When she had first moved in Lex had been away at boarding school, and honestly he was what worried her the most about her new family. She had never had any siblings, and as much as she had always wanted at least one she didn't know how the _true _Luthor child would react to her sudden presence in his home. Her fears had been unfounded though, Lex had welcomed her into his home much like his father had, with open arms. The two of them became fast friends and it didn't take much time after that for him to truly become the stereotypical overprotective big brother. Normally someone being that way with her would have annoyed her, even at the age of eight, but for some reason with Lex it never had.

Chloe nervously fidgeted in her seat and her gaze fell onto the envelope in front of her again.

The guilt she felt about leaving Lex behind after all these years was the only hard thing about moving back to Metropolis. She didn't want to abandon him. She knew Lex and Lionel's relationship had hit a few bumps over the years, but recently the tension between father and son, had hit a pinnacle. She couldn't help but feel guilty about that. Ever since Lionel had exiled Lex to small town life several years ago she had been playing referee between the pair but lately, ever since she had realized what she really wanted to do with her life, she had become completely engrossed in her college planning and fell short in her peacekeeping responsibilities. She just hoped that one of their many arguments wasn't what was currently holding them up.

Chloe looked down at her watch again and rolled her eyes, they were both now over half an hour late. She sighed heavily and snatched up the envelope from her lap before it could fall to the ground as she rose to her feet. The guilt she had been feeling just moments ago was starting to be pushed aside to give way to annoyance at the two most important men in her life.

She stomped toward the door of the study fully prepared to tell them both what she thought of them the next time she saw them, but just as she reached out to grab the handle the door opened and Lex walked in his cell phone planted where it always was lately… against his ear. He held up his finger gesturing for her to hold on a minute and shot her an apologetic smile.

She felt her anger toward him melt away when she saw the tension he was wearing in his shoulders.

Lex continued his argument for several more minutes, he ranted to whoever was on the other end about leather clad terrorists, bombs, and lack of any leads. Finally he demanded some kind of results by the end of the week before he ended his call and slammed his phone down to his desk.

He turned to her and gave her another small smile, "I'm so sorry, Chloe, I know you asked us both to be here, and neither of us seemed to be able to make it on time."

She held up her hand silencing him, "it's fine really, I know you've got a lot going on right now, and you're forgiven, but… where's dad?"

"He should be here soon," Lex assured her, "I spoke to him about fifteen minutes ago and he was already on the company helicopter headed this way." He walked across the room and poured himself a scotch neat then turned back to her, "so do I get some kind of clue as to what this meeting is all about."

"I think I should wait until he's here too." she tried as hard as she could not to glance down at the large envelope she still held in her hands.

Lex narrowed his eyes at her for a moment. "Would it be safe to assume that whatever you need to discuss with us has something to do with that envelope clutched firmly in your hands?" He asked not breaking eye contact as he pointed in the direction of her hands

Chloe rolled her eyes, that was one thing she had grown to hate about her relationship with her adoptive brother, he could read her like a book, and she always got the impression that he got a kick out of being so close to someone that he could read them so well.

"As a matter of fact it does, but you still have to wait until Dad shows up… sorry." she answered with a shrug.

As if he sensed that he was the topic of discussion Lionel Luthor walked into the office and immediately headed toward Chloe. He stopped in front of her and leaned down pressing a kiss to her cheek. "So, what is so important that we couldn't discuss it over the phone?"

"What no time for small talk?" Chloe teased as she silently prayed that her regular, everyday snark would lighten them both up enough to give her a chance to convince them that this was the best path for her.

"After all these years you should know how unnecessary I find such things as small talk."

Lex snorted at his father's remark, "unless it's with some disgruntled board member you're trying to win over, the rest of us just have to take what we can get."

Chloe's head whipped in his direction her lips pursed, "Why don't you both sit down?" she asked tightly as she gestured toward the couches on the other side of the room. She watched them both make their way across the room and rolled her eyes. She really hoped they would listen to reason. If they did by the end of the summer she would be living somewhere completely new and _finally_ starting the life she was meant to have.

She grabbed a bottle of water from the bar and made her way toward them… _'Time to face the firing squad' _she thought with a small nervous chuckle.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Inaccurate Perceptions 

**Author: **brittany34

**Summary: **After the unexpected death of her parents, Chloe Sullivan was adopted by Lionel Luthor and raised as his own. Now twelve years later, Chloe is ready to break out on her own, move away from the confines of the Luthor mansion in Smallville and begin classes at Met U. All on her way to living her lifelong dream of becoming a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for the Daily Planet. But everything she knows is about to change when she begins to investigate recent terrorist attacks on her family's company and finds out that the Luthors are not what she always believed them to be. 

**Characters: **Chloe Sullivan/Luthor, Oliver Queen, Lex Luthor, Lionel Luthor, Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, Author Curry, Dinah Lance, Mia Darden

**Pairings: **Chloe/Oliver, Lois/Clark, AC/Dinah, Bart/Mia

**Rating: **Mature/ NC-17 (Eventually)

**Genre: **Mystery, Suspense, Drama, Angst, Romance, and some Humor 

**Words Count: **2,347

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing!

Thank You so much to all of you who alerted and reviewed this story, I'm so glad y'all are enjoying it!

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 1**_

Chloe glanced around her still only half packed bedroom and let out a heavy sigh.

Finally after several hours her clothes were nearly finished, she lifted her favorite green sweater and placed it on top of the rest of her neatly folded clothes in her suitcase. She quickly zipped the bag and hoisted it off her bed and struggled as she carried it across the room to set in front of the pile of already packed boxes. With a final unladylike grunt she slammed the large overstuffed bag down and made her way over to the large book shelf on the other side of the room.

Halfway through empting her many books into the box in front of her she heard her door open, glancing up she found her brother leaning against the frame watching her with a small smirk, "Aren't there people that you can hire to do this for you?" His gaze drifted from her to the corner of the room where her already packed belongings were stacked, "doing so certainly would have saved you a lot of time."

Chloe continued to stare at him her eyes narrowing slightly when he crossed his arms over his chest and threw her an amused grin. "You know a proper gentleman wouldn't waste time pointing out the flaws in my moving plan but instead get his ass in here and help."

Lex sighed heavily and moved into the room. He pulled off his suit coat, laid it across her bed and began rolling up his sleeves, "so what else are you taking with you?" he asked glancing at the side of the room that still remained untouched.

"Um… everything?" He raised his eyebrows at her and smirked, "and don't give me that look, if you and dad weren't such massive pains in the ass who demanded that I live in a penthouse apartment instead of on campus like everyone else I wouldn't have _room_ to take all this stuff." She gestured wildly around the room.

"I think it was a fair compromise, either the penthouse or twenty four seven security detail… you made your choice."

"Hardly a fair choice if you ask me," she mumbled just loud enough to make sure he heard.

"Stop whining… or I'll leave you to pack all this stuff by yourself."

"Fine, but you're doing _all _the heavy lifting." she pointed in the direction of the large box she had just packed over half of her book collection in, "that box needs taped and carried over to the rest."

He walked over to her desk and did as she asked. She smiled when she heard Lex grumble under his breath and groan under the weight of the box, once it was placed by the others he turned toward her and glared, "how did you expect to be able to lift that?" he asked.

"I didn't… but I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed up and I could trick you into doing it for me." she smiled smugly at him as she started bagging up the cosmetics from her vanity.

"You know I think I should call dad and tell him that I think that twenty four hour security detail is something we should reconsider."

Chloe whipped her head around and narrowed her eyes at him, "you do that and I may be forced to inform him about the few indiscretions that you've managed to keep off his radar."

"You wouldn't…"

"I'm sure he'd be very interested in what happened between you and your headmaster from Excelsior's daughter," she placed a finger to her chin pretending to mull it over. "Hmm… what was her name again…? Rebecca maybe," Chloe fought back the laughter threatening to erupt at any moment, "no wait, it was Shannon wasn't it?"

"Really Chloe… Blackmail? You've been a member of this family for far too long. What happened to the sweet eight year old little girl I once knew."

"Hey I just go with what I know works," she smiled brightly at the scowl he now wore, "now get packing the moving truck will be here in…," she looked over at the clock on the wall, "a little over an hour."

"Whatever you say Miss Luthor."

They spent the next hour packing her belongings as quickly as possible and when the final box was loaded they watched as the movers drove away in the direction of Metropolis.

Chloe turned to Lex and smiled, "are you sure you're going to be okay in this big house all by yourself?"

"I'll be fine." he assured her.

She shot him a knowing look her eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"You know I survived here just fine on my own before you showed up on my doorstep."

"It's different now," she crossed her arms over her chest. "Before you had…" her voice trailed off.

The last thing she wanted to do was remind him of his ruined friendship with Clark Kent.

She still couldn't believe that the local farm boy had completely turned his back on her brother. The fallout between the once best friends hadn't only ended their friendship but hers with the younger of the two men as well.

She knew Lex would never admit it out loud but she was certain the loss of his friend had hurt him deeply. Aside from her, Clark was the only person Lex had been close to in years, and she found herself starting to hate Clark Kent for the pain he had caused.

"Chloe, we've been through this already, I'm going to be fine."

"You know I could always put in a good word with Dad… try and get your ban from living in Metropolis lifted."

"You know I can't decide if I'm more shocked or offended by the fact that you think he still has that kind of control over me and what I do and that even if he did that you have more pull with him then I do."

Chloe smirked at him knowingly.

"Okay so maybe you do, but it doesn't matter. I need to stay in Smallville right now, I have… projects I need to finish."

"Well for your sake I hope the 'projects' you're referring to involve Luthorcorp finding some way to turn meteor rock into a useable resource, and not with a raven haired local girl."

"Chloe, I already told you my fall out with Clark was not Lana's fault, Clark has been keeping secrets from me for years… that was the problem, you can't be friends with someone who doesn't trust you."

"Whatever you say," she held back the urge to roll her eyes at him and the fact that he still refused to acknowledge Lana Lang's part in the whole situation. Instead she smiled at him and decided to move on, "so you think there's any chance you could convince that amazing chef of ours to make me that shrimp marinara dish, one last time before I go." She looked at him hopefully.

"Considering I already made it known to her that it was mandatory for tonight, I'd say there's a pretty good chance." He looked down at his watch, "and seeing as I also told her dinner needed to be ready an hour earlier than usual, I'd say it should be just about time to get in there."

Chloe smiled at him brightly, "Best. Brother. Ever." She turned on her heal and headed back into the house as Lex followed behind shaking his head.

* * *

They ate dinner as they always seemed to recently… with Lex listening to Chloe as she rambled on about all her big plans for her new life in Metropolis, as he nodded along not wanting to interrupt her excited verbal musings.

Two months ago when she had suggested moving away he had been completely against the idea. Truth be told the idea of the woman he had come to regard as family… as his sister… living in Metropolis alone still left him uneasy. He was able to comfort himself with the knowledge that moving to Metropolis meant that she would be far away from Smallville and all the meteor infected psychopaths that on a daily basis roamed the streets of the small town.

That wasn't the only reason he had changed his stance on her moving though, over the past month his investigations into all thing meteor related and become increasingly dangerous. He was finding more and more people exhibiting abilities, and every new 'skill' he found was scarier then the last. After the events of the second meteor shower last May he knew thing were only going to get worse.

Yes, the best place for Chloe to be was as far away from Smallville as possible.

"Lex?"

"Sorry… what?" He asked hoping she wouldn't inquire into what was holding his attention so firmly that he had somehow lost track of what she was telling him.

"I was just saying that I have my interview for my internship on Tuesday, and I was thinking that after I can stop your office and we can go to lunch," she lifted her wine to her lips and took a generous sip, "could you be in Metropolis around one?"

Lex took a gulp from his glass and nodded, "I'll clear my schedule and make sure I'm available.

"Okay," she said slowly as she eyed him suspiciously. Chloe lifted the napkin from her lap and placed it on the table, "I should probably get going, I've got a long drive ahead of me and it's already getting dark outside."

They stood from the table and Chloe led the way through the halls stopping in front of the study, "I'm sure you've got work to do… I'll see you Tuesday?"

"I'll be there," he promised

"Good," she hugged him tightly, "try and be careful." She pulled back and smiled at him.

"You're the one moving away from this lovely hamlet and back to the big city. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the crime rate in Metropolis far exceeds Smallville's."

"Maybe, but remind me again how many times you've been attacked, shot, kidnapped, held hostage…"

He held up his hand silencing her, "All right, I get the point."

She smiled broadly, "of course you do, and we both know that I am by far the most rational member of the Luthor family."

"Yes, we're lucky we found you." He said jokingly, but under the surface he meant the statement with everything in him.

After the deaths of Julian and his mother both he and his father had gone to very dark places, places neither of them had ever seemed to fully come out of, but the addition of an eight year old orphan had seemed to bring out something good in each of them.

His father had embraced her in a way he had never done for him and while at one point in time that would have sent him into a competitive streak like he had never had before, he had been just as captivated by the young girl. Instead of having an urge to fight against her sudden presence in his home, life, and family; he felt the need to invite her in, and protect her. She was his sister from the first day he had met her, and with her came the opportunity to have a sibling, someone younger then him who he could protect. It was something he never had the opportunity to do with his brother. They had been close ever since, and now she was moving out on her own.

He watched as she made her way down the long hallway before entering his office, he walked to his desk and picked up the phone dialing the number to the security company he had hired to look after Chloe.

"_Murphy."_

"Did you take care of what we discussed?"

"_Yes Sir Mr. Luthor. We installed two cameras outside the front door of her penthouse, and another two on her balcony."_

"And you hid them well… the last thing I need is her finding them."

"_She won't find them, I assure you." _

"Excellent."

"_Mr. Luthor, are you certain that you don't want anymore surveillance items installed… maybe some on the inside of her apartment."_

"Absolutely not. The cameras are for security, I do not want her privacy invaded, do you understand me?"

"_Yes sir."_

Lex ended the call without another word. He knew Chloe wouldn't like the idea of any kind of surveillance duty being put on her, especially after she had agreed to live off campus to prevent just that, but he knew he didn't have a choice, he had to make sure that she stayed safe, no matter what.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **Inaccurate Perceptions

**Author: **brittany34

**Summary: **After the unexpected death of her parents, Chloe Sullivan was adopted by Lionel Luthor and raised as his own. Now ten years later, Chloe is ready to break out on her own, move away from the confines of the Luthor mansion in Smallville and begin classes at Met U. All on her way to living her lifelong dream of becoming a Pulitzer Prize winning Journalist for the Daily Planet. But everything she knows is about to change when she begins to investigate recent terrorist attacks on her family's company and finds out that the Luthors are not what she always believed them to be.

**Characters: **Chloe Sullivan/Luthor, Oliver Queen, Lex Luthor, Lionel Luthor, Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, Author Curry, Dinah Lance, Mia Darden

**Pairings: **Chloe/Oliver, Lois/Clark, AC/Dinah, Bart/Mia

**Rating: **Mature/ NC-17 (Eventually)

**Genre: **Mystery, Suspense, Drama, Romance

**Words: **2,607

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing!

**A/N **Thanks to those of you who left me feedback on the last chapter! =)

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Chloe tapped her foot nervously against the marble floor. This was the moment she had been dreading all summer. Any minute now she would be called into the large office in front of her and be face to face with Pauline Kahn. She should be _excited_ this was _Pauline Kahn, _Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Planet, the kind of woman Chloe aspired to be, and yet she couldn't seem to force away the lump growing in her throat. By the end of her meeting with the woman Chloe would know for certain if she'd been accepted to the Daily Planet internship program.

She nervously thumbed at the edge of the small portfolio resting in her lap and tugged at her lower lip.

What if the older woman didn't think she had enough experience since she'd never worked on in a newspaper before, not even in high school thanks to her home schooling?

What if the one of the women she admired most thought her writing samples she brought with her sub par?

What if…?

"Miss Sullivan?"

Chloe swallowed heavily and looked up at the woman in front of her, "Yes?" she croaked out.

"Miss Kahn is ready for you."

She nodded and rose from her seat, Thank you," she replied quietly.

Chloe followed the woman through the doors leading to the editor's office and tried to force away the nauseous feeling coursing through her body.

Pauline looked up from the file in front of her and smiled, "Miss Sullivan… please have a seat."

She slid into the seat on the opposite side of the large desk, "would you like anything… coffee? Water?"

"No I'm fine… but thank you."

"All right, that'll be all Melissa… please hold all my calls."

"Yes Miss Kahn," the woman said before turning on her heel and exiting the office leaving Chloe alone with the woman she prayed would be her boss by the end of this meeting.

"So, Miss Sullivan, lets get right to it… why do you want to be a journalist?"

Chloe cleared her throat, "well Miss Kahn, Journalism is the only career that has ever held any interest for me. Getting into the thick of things to discover the truth, and righting wrongs through the power of my pen… It's all I can imagine doing with my life."

Pauline nodded, "Now I notice your file has no previous articles written by you, for high school or otherwise, why is that?"

"Once I reached the high school level my father insisted on having me home schooled, but I did bring along some writing samples for you to see. They may not have been published anywhere, but I think they'll show what you could expect from me." Chloe held out the folder to the older woman, which she readily accepted.

Chloe returned to tugging on her lower lip as Pauline flipped quickly through the pages. About halfway through the stack she pulled one out and smiled faintly.

"An essay on Nellie Bly," she commented, "I take it you're a fan?"

"I am," She answered with a short nod, "I hope to one day leave as big a mark on journalism as she did."

"Very high aspirations, getting to that level takes a lot of dedication and discipline, do you think you're prepared for that?"

"I do."

"Well I've gotta ask… why Nellie Bly? Most of the female intern's applicants I get in here tell me they'd like to start in newspaper and hopefully end up like Barbara Walters or Diane Sawyer. Why is _she_ who you aspire to?"

Chloe cleared her throat, "When I was eight years old, I read Ten Days in Mad-House, and honestly… it inspired me… She got right in there doing whatever was necessary to get to the truth, even going to the point of getting herself committed to Blackwell Island not knowing how exactly she was going to get back out."

"Some people would call a move like that far too risky." Pauline noted.

"It was risky," Chloe admitted, "but how can one not admire the bravery it took for her to do that."

The older woman nodded with a small smirk and leaned forward, "honestly she's who I admire most too," she told her in a lowered voice.

They sat for several minutes in silence after that as Pauline read the paper in front of her. When she finished she set it back in the folder and closed it, "well you certainly seem capable enough… but there is one final question I have to ask."

Chloe nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Why aren't you using your legal name?"

Chloe faltered for a moment. She knew she shouldn't be surprised that someone like Pauline Kahn knew who she really was.

"You are after all Chloe Luthor after all, just your name could open a lot more doors to you." she continued.

Chloe nodded and leaded slightly back, "I could," she admitted, "but to be honest with you… any progress I make in my life should be based on my abilities… _not_ on my family or my name."

"I respect that," Pauline told her with a smile, "but you do realize that given whom your family is there's a high risk for a conflict of interest, seeing as we're based out of Metropolis and the Luthors stretch reaches to nearly every corner of the city."

She nodded again, "I'm certain that I can separate myself from anything Luthor related and still write some great stories for you Miss Kahn… I just need to be given the chance." she said firmly.

Pauline eyed her for several seconds and Chloe cringed inwardly waiting for what she was sure would be the typical 'we'll call you' dismissal. She had known that using her former name was a risk, but she had hoped that she'd at least get a chance to prove herself before her falsehood was discovered.

"You have to guarantee me that you'll stay away from any stories having to do with anything Luthor related."

"I promise I will," Chloe said trying to keep her growing excitement at bay.

"And if you're working on something and you discover a link to your family you have to immediately hand the story over to someone else."

"I can do that."

"All right then," Pauline stood from her chair and Chloe followed suit. She held out her hand with Chloe gladly accepted, "Welcome to the Daily Planet… _Sullivan_."

* * *

The folder slammed to his desktop and pulled his attention away from the most recent 33.1 files the team had managed to acquire during their last mission. Oliver glanced at the man standing in front of him and glared, "Problem Vic?"

"You need to be more cautious of who and what is going on around you."

Oliver leaned back and folded his arms over his chest, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Look inside," Victor nodded in the direction of the folder he had just placed in front of him.

Oliver eyed the other man for several second before leaning forward and opening it slowly. Inside were candid photos of himself as well as lengthy notes on his daily activities since his arrival in Metropolis three weeks prior.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized there was no mention of his nightly activities. Whoever was tailing him obviously had missed anything to do with the Green Arrow.

"Where did you get these?" Oliver asked thumbing his way through the photos again.

"You know how I've been trying to hack into Lex's private computer remotely?" he asked.

Oliver nodded in response.

"Well… I found these."

"Did you find anything else?" Oliver asked hopefully. If Vic had managed to get into the computer and find these, there was a chance he'd also found something helpful to their work with Lex's lab.

"No… at least nothing of relevance. I have a pretty strong feeling that Lex has his information on 33.1 stored somewhere else."

"Of course he does," Oliver grumbled he glanced back down at the photos still clenched in his hand, "So Lex is having me followed?"

"Are you really that surprised?"

"No," he admitted slamming the folder shut and sliding it away from him, "are you sure this is all he's gotten on me?"

"Seems to be… luckily whoever he hired is completely incompetent."

"Yeah luckily…"

"So how do you plan on handing this?"

"I think it's about time Lex and I had a meeting." Oliver told him standing from his desk.

"So your plan is to what? Just go over there guns blazing, throw these photos in his face, and tell him you know?" Victor asked incredulously folding his arms over his chest.

"Yes."

"And how exactly do you plan on explaining how you got them?"

"I don't see the point on offering him any explanation at all." Oliver answered with a small shrug.

"Oliver confronting him isn't gonna accomplish anything. All that'll do is make him ask more questions about you. He'll end up hiring someone more capable then the guy he currently has tailing you, and he'll dig further into your movements… you can't let that happen."

"Well then what do _you_ suggest I do?"

"For starters… I think it would be best if the Green Arrow took a small vacation… just to be safe," Oliver opened his mouth at argue but Victor continued before he could speak, "it won't be for long, just until we can find some solid proof of what Lex is up to and shut him down."

"Oh yeah… because that won't take long at all," Oliver bit out sarcastically. "How long have we already been trying to get him?"

Victor shook his head, "I really don't think you have any other option man… this is how you're gonna have to play this thing out."

Oliver nodded, stood from his desk and walked over to his large window overlooking the Metropolis skyline. His jaw firm and his hands clenched into tight fists. They needed to get this problem with Lex taken care of and now his team would have to do it one man short.

* * *

Chloe stepped off the elevator and headed straight toward Lex's office. As she walked by his secretary's desk she smiled down at the woman, "Hey Victoria… is he available?"

"Sure Chloe, go right in he's expecting you."

"Thanks," she replied over her shoulder as she pushed open the double doors leading into his office.

"Well how did it go," Lex asked not looking up from his paperwork.

"Really great," she answered with a smile, "but I fill you in over lunch… let's go I'm starving." She closed the distance between them and gently tugged on the sleeve of his shirt.

Lex smiled and shook his head at her, "All right, I'm coming," he set down his pen and stood from his seat, "So where am I taking you."

Chloe smirked at him and he groaned, "Really? You're going to make me eat one of those horrible hamburgers you never stop talking about?"

"Oh _come_ on," she whined, "don't complain, you know they're good. Besides I haven't been there since I moved to Smallville." She smiled brightly, "Please?"

Lex held up his hands, "fine, but just so you're aware Luthors really shouldn't eat at a place called _Big Belly Burger_," he sneered in distaste as he said the restaurants name.

"Oh don't be such a snob," Chloe scoffed, "now throw your jacket on and lets get out of here." She turned on her heel and headed back out the doors.

When they reached the restaurant she told him all about her interview and acceptance to the internship program, both were so lost in conversation that neither noticed the man on the other side of the restaurant pull out his phone and take several pictures.

* * *

Victor stepped off the elevator and walked straight over to Oliver, "I think I might have found a solution to our problem," he said holding out a folded newspaper.

"What's this?"

"Check it out." Victor urged.

Oliver glanced down at the article his eyes wide. It was a picture of Lex Luthor eating in a small burger joint with a smiling petite blonde woman and under it was the caption…

"_Metropolis's own Little Orphan Annie is back!"_

"And how exactly is this 'the solution to our problem'?" he asked as he continued to stare at the paper in confusion.

"Simple… you want a way to get information on Lex… you're looking at her."

* * *

(A/N for those of you who don't know or haven't read it the Nellie Bly article listed above is actually a great read and you should check it out if you like that kind of thing here's the link . Enjoy!)

Just a heads up I may not be able to update this until late next week. I have several one-shots I'm working on that I want to get posted as soon as possible plus a ton of fanfic from the past couple of days that I wanna catch up on!


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